Analysts and traders who take part in the weekly Kitco Gold Survey are mixed on their expectations for price direction next week.

Participation was slightly lighter than normal in this week’s survey as traders took off on the Friday after the U.S. Fourth of July holiday on Thursday, turning it into a four-day weekend. Eighteen participants took part in this week’s survey, with seven seeing prices up, seven seeing prices down and four looking for sideways consolidation.

Gold futures fell to a one-week low as the dollar surged to the highest in almost three years after U.S. payrolls rose more than forecast in June, fueling speculation that the Federal Reserve will scale back stimulus.

The greenback climbed as much as 1.6 percent against a basket of major currencies, eroding the appeal of gold as an alternative investment. Payrolls rose by 195,000 workers for a second straight month, the government said today. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey projected a 165,000 gain. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures jumped after the jobs data.

The gold price has been in a tailspin this year, but physical demand for the yellow metal remains as robust as ever in China.

New data shows that net Chinese gold imports jumped 40% in May from the month before. Total imports from Hong Kong reached their second highest level ever during the month, behind only March of this year.

Despite the lack of trading activity in the United States due to the Independence Day celebrations, yesterday’s session in Europe was very interesting. The players on the foreign exchange market have provided plenty of thrills. Without a doubt, the ECB President’s announcement was fuel for further dynamic declines in the euro. Draghi said the bank expected its key interest rates to remain at current or lower levels for an extended period. The ECB left its main interest rates unchanged as expected at record lows of 0.5 percent. Market reaction was swift and pronounced. The European currency dropped to a five-week low against the dollar.

Another important event was the statement by the Bank of England, which signaled that it won’t be raising interest rates anytime soon, lifting the FTSE 100 and putting big pressure on the British pound which fell 1.2%.

The cornerstone of the free market system is the law of supply and demand. This is the premise that governs how the prices of resources are determined in any free market economy as opposed to prices being set by government edict or monopoly control. It is the mechanism by which resources are produced and consumed in the freest and most efficient manner. Here's a great definition of this law from the Free Dictionary – "the theory that prices are determined by the interaction of supply and demand: an increase in supply will lower prices if not accompanied by increased demand, and an increase in demand will raise prices unless accompanied by increased supply."

Silver has been used to heal infections for thousands of years. It is currently commonly used in alternative medicine in its colloidal form suspended in water as a broad spectrum treatment for infections with bacteria, viruses and fungi in both humans and animals.

A recently published scientific study led by James Collins of Boston University has confirmed this usage by showing how silver ions disrupt and ultimately kill bacteria by increasing the permeability of their cellular membranes.

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1 Comment

QE is deflationary.It is completely ineffective as an offset to contractionary fiscal policy and fear driven hoarding by companies and households. Recently some hope has been suggested for us hated gold hoarders by stating that the rise in interest rates and death of the bond long bond bull market forcast a downturn in stocks and a rise in gold. No, rising interest rates have been associated with rising stock markets and since gold likes negative real interest rates, are negative for gold.. But Rising interest rates make re- payment of the debt impossible. Refer to a brilliant article by Frances Coppola on blogspot.

What does Charles Hugh-Smith say--- he has written many learned articles about this.

The above are my summaries of internet readings to-day. Jens O. Parsson (nom du plume) in his book "Dying of money" says "The German inflation started in 1922, the money printing which caused it started in 1914. The great American inflation of the late 1970s was started by president Kennedy in the 1960s and later helped by Johnson. A boyantly rising stock market marks the opening stages of every monetary inflation happening now. Price inflation coming later."

The gold bull market we had was not accepted by most people on Wall street. The high of 1900 was not as high as the high in early 1980s. I do not believe we have seen the last of the bull market in gold. Yet to come is the final blow-off or mania stage. When?? Guess? my guess 2017 to 2020.

The debt will have to be inflated away-- a problem which no politician or fed reserve banker has addressed yet.